Aeroplane.



C. HARTMANN.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN;29, 1910.

1,005,205. Patented Oct. 10,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Q X \J \J a? l/VVE/VTUR 0/1/91. HART/MANN G. HARTMANN.

AEROPLANB.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1910.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN VEN TOR CARL HART/MANN WITNESSES:

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A TTORNEYS G. HARTMANN.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1910.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

4 TOR WITNESSES 22 23 27 l/Vl/EN 7%9 CAI?!- HARZMA/V/V flaw U 7%3ATTORNEYS CARL HAR'I'MANN, 0F WOODSIDE, NEW YORK.

AEROPLANE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Application filed January 29, 1910. Serial No. 540,866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL HARTMANN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Woodside, Queens county, Long; Island,

'State of New 'York, have inventor. ce1tainnew and useful Improvementsin Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to aeroplanes, preferably, although notnecessarily, arranged to be driven by an attached motor, and has for aprincipal object to provide a construction which shall have a maximum ofstability while in flight and especially when it encounters sudden anderratic air currents from whatever direction; a further object of myinvention is to provide such stability in combination with a maximumamount of sustaining surface; and a still further objeet, directlyassociated with the preceding two, is to provide a symmetri alarrangement of sustaining surface, and a construction, in which thecenter of gravity shall lie in a vertical axis situated symmetricallywith reference to said surface, as well as below the mean plane of suchsurface.

A further and most important object of my invention is to provide animproved rudder systcm, by means of which very quick changes ofdirectionmay be effected. This same systen'i of rudders may also be so used as toaid in lifting or depressing one or both sides of the aeroplane, beingthus of advantage not only when rising from or descend ing to theground, but also as an aid in maintaining the equilibrium of theaeroplane in case of sudden gusts tending to overthrow the same.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved screw foruse in pro pelling an aeroplane.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved landing dcvi ip by means of whiph the aeroplane may drop to the surface of theground gently and without jar; this "same device is of substantialassistance in enabling the aeroplane to take its preliminary run overthe ground preparatory to a flight without unduly jarring the operatorand the driving mechanism by reason of irregularities which may be metwith upon the ground surface.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the specificationproceeds.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of apreferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional viewtaken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and shows the operators cage and thelanding device; Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1 taken from above; Fig. tis a front elevation of Fig. 1.; and Fig. 5 is :1V section, looking fromthe front, taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Considering the sustaining surface of the aeroplane proper, thiscomprises a series of narrow individual planes 1 extending the fullwidth of the aeroplane, said planes being placed parallel with oneanother and arranged in echelon or diamond-shaped outline; or thearrangement may be spoken of as similar to that of two equal wedgesplaced with their bases abutting. As to both a central longitudinalplane and a central transverse plane this diamond is substantiallysynnnctrical. The individual planes constituting the bottom of thediamond are, however, shorter than the corresponding planes constitutingthe top of the diamond; the area of the upper sustaining surface of theaeroplane is, therefore, greater than that of the lower.

Extending centrally forward of the aeroplane a shaft 2 carrying thepropelling screw 3.

A cage t is attached to and hangs centrally below the aeroplane; itcarries a motor 5 adapted to actuate, through a sprocket wheel (5, asprocket chain 7 and a second sprocket wheel 8, the shaft 2; a lever 9is used to control the engine. As the operator is seated in this cagehis head and the upper portion of his body projects a little above thelevel of the lowest central pair of planes. All the lower planes infront of him are cut away within a determined angle so as to give anextended field of view for the proper guidance of the aeroplane. Thelower planes to the rear of the operator are also preferably cut awayfor better balancing of the aeroplane.

At the rear of the aeroplane and hinged to the edge of the lower planeis a horizontal rudder 10 adapted to be shifted throu h a suitable angle(as c. g. 10' to 10 Fig. 1 by use of a cord 1.1, running over suitablepulleys, and a controlling lever 12.

Attached to two axially alined rotatable shafts 13 supported midwaybetween the top and bottom systems of planes on each 1110 side is myimproved steering rudder 14. Each rudder is fixed to its shaft and maybe turned thereon so as to changeits angle with the horizontal through alever 15 and the cord or belt 16. v

The operation of the aeroplane is as follows: When in the air and movingstraight ahead the lateral rudders 14 are set in a horizontal position,as shown at the left, Fig. 4. The rear rudder 10 should'also be horizontal. level, the rear rudder should be inclined up-. wardly as indicatedat 10 A. quicker rise may be accomplished by simultaneously 1ncliningthe lateral rudders 14: so as to have an upper edge to the front asshown at 17 (dotted) 1. To descend, rear rudder 11 and lateral rudders1s should be set uppositely as shown at 10 and 18. If desired thelateral rudders may be used alone, without the rear rudder.

To use the lateral rudders tor steering purposes without ascent ordescent, one rudder should be placed in a horizontal position and theother in a vertical position; this is shown in Fig. 4:. Should one sideof the aeroplane tend to tip up or down while making the turn the levelmay be restored and maintained by suitably adjusting the angle of eitheror both rudders 14.

Pivotally fixed by .a shaft 18' t0, brackets 19 extending centrallybelow the operators cage, is my improved landing device 20. This extendsto anequal extent forwardly and to the rear and, preferably, at least tothe limit of the sustaining surface. It consists of a pair of light andthin but still. strips 21 spaced apart at the center and broughttogether toward each end so as to iave the general outline of a boat orsnowshoe; braces 22 suitably stiffen the structure. Wheels 23 areprovided at each end of the landing device and a central wheel 24:.is

placed at each end of shaft 18. Preferably,

although, not so shown, the wheels 2 should either be smaller thanwheels 23 or else the shaft 18 01": wheels 2 1 should be placed athigher level than those of 24. Similar springs 25 at each end of theoperators cage, connect said cage and the landing device.

In rising from the ground, as the aeroplane is either pulled along thesame or driven by its motor, the landing device will ride over allirregularities of surface without transferring any material change of position to the aeroplane. Any shock, or jar, also, will-be taken up bythe springs 25. in the same way, in making a landing, the

front wheel 23 will meet the ground first,

but the shock of this landing will be largely taken up by the springs 25and will, hence, not be transmitted to the engine and to the aeroplane.

along the ground, either in rising or descend- If it is desired toascend to a higher- As the aeroplane runs,

ing,'one or the other of the middle wheels 24:, and sometimes both, willbe upon the ground.

Referring to the screw 3 this has, as will be observed, a blade theradial width of which increases steadily as the length of said bladealong its shaft increases. 1 have found by experiment that with thistype of screw as distinguished from the orthodox screw having a uniformradial width of blade at all points, the velocity attained through theair for a given amount, of power is much greater.

Owing to the fact that the screw blade is constantly increasing in widthand weight from the end of its shaft, it is necessary to provide uponsaid shaft a balancing element 26; this may be simply straight radiallyextended bar fixed to the shaft and ending, if desired, in a knobembodying any required balancing weight. I find that I am able to effectthe balance inthisway with less addition of weight than if'a b; wheelwere used.

Owing to the substantially greater sustaining surface of the uppersystem of anced-ah currents of any kind. By reason.

of its wedge like shape, alsomy aeroplane tends to split the air infront of it and to pass through the same with a minimum of friction.

The individual planes 1 may overlap somewhat or as drawn, the edges ofneigh boring planes may be directly over one another.

Many changes of detail as e. 9., the use of more than one screw. insteadof but one screw as described and shown; or the use of a rear rudder 10of diilferent length or different width, or both, from the one shown,

may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. I mayalso, within the scope of my invention, have the individual planes ofthe lower system the same in number and size as the upper systemprovided I retain the wedge shaped outline; or I may, by keeping thelower system of planes of smaller area than the upper system, departfrom the wedge shaped outline. 01', instead of having the lower set ofplane shorter than the upper set ll may, it I choos make them of thesame length but narrower Taken with the foregoing description are thedrawings the exact nature of my inven tion is set forth in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In an aeroplane an arrangementflot sustaining surfaces comprising twosets of per allel planes said sets being located one above the other andthe planes of each set being in stepped relation to one another,corresponding planes of said stepped sets being, further, closest to oneanother at the ends of the aeroplane.

2. In an aeroplane an arrangement of sustaining surfaces comprising twosets of parallel planes said sets being located one above the othe andthe planes of each set being in stepped relation to one anothercorresponding planes of said stepped sets being farthest apart at themiddle and closest to one another at the ends of the aeroplane.

In an aeroplane an arrangement of sus' taining surfaces comprising twosets of parallel planes said sets being located one above the other andthe planes of each set being in stepped relation to one another theplanes of the upper set having a greater area than the planes of thelower set.

4. In an aeroplane the arrangement of sustaining surfaces comprising twosets of parallel planes said sets being located one above the other andthe planes of each set being in stepped relation to one another theplanes of the upper set extending laterally beyond the planes of thelower set.

In an aeroplane the combination of sustaining surfaces comprising twosets of parallel planes said sets being located one above the other andthe planes of each set being in stepped relation to one another with theplanes of the upper set extending laterally beyond the planes of thelower set and a laterally arranged rudder adapted to be ad justed abouta transverse axis.

(3. In an aeroplane the combination of sustaining surfaces comprisingtwo sets of parallel planes said sets being located one above the otherand the planes of each set being ,in stepped relation to one anotherwith the planes of the upper set extending laterally beyond the planesof the lower set and a pair of independent laterally arranged rudderseach adapted to be adjusted about a transverse axis.

7. In an aeroplane an arrangement of sustaining surfaces comprising twosets of planes, said sets being located one above the other, and theplanes of each set being in stepped relation to one another, withcorresponding planes of said stepped sets closest to one another at theends of the aeroplane, planes of the lower set being centrally cut away.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CARL HARTMANN.

Witnesses: i

Emma G. \VILLYOUNG, JOHN A. Kminnmxnox.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

